Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies. Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Martinez In, Moyer Out

Pedro Martinez will be given his first shot at redemption tomorrow night against the Cubs as he enters the Phillies starting rotation.Jamie Moyer, on the other hand, has been relegated to the bullpen while the Phillies take a look at Martinez.Moyer is a professional and took the news in stride.While it is sad to see Jamie bumped from the rotation for sentimental reasons, for baseball reasons, it was necessary.Holding the highest ERA in the National League among starters, Moyer has not had the year the Phillies hoped for.However, if Pedro fails to perform, there is no reason Jamie cannot be moved back in as a starter again.

The injury bug has left the bullpen thin over the last month so Moyer may be able to help out in a game where a starter is pulled early.Another member of the pen, Chad Durbin, is just back from his back injury and Rodrigo Lopez was, as expected after several bad outings, sent back to the minors to make room for Durbin.Also recovering still is JC Romero who had an MRI on his forearm which showed no ligament damage.Romero has a slight tear in the muscle which should heal with rest and hopefully, we will see him before the month is out.

The Phillies will have their hands full tonight facing the Cubs and Rich Harden who has a 1.80 ERA in his last 5 games.JA Happ is coming off another complete game shut-out, which is great, except that he threw 127 pitches.Hopefully, the extra work will have no effect on him tonight.The game kicks off at 8:05pm in Chicago.

I read an article on ESPN by Orel Hershieser that said that the Phillies should go with a 6 man rotation for a while to rest their arms. What do you think about that?

My nephew is a Phillies fan and I actually made my first trip to Philly in May for a Mets-Phillies game(I also went to a Cardinals-Nationals game in DC that weekend) and I loved it. I took Aaron to see the Phillies in May when they were in St. Louis and he got to see his favorite players(Utley, Raul, and Ryan Howard) up close and personal.

I asked him if he wanted to leave early and he said “I don’t know, do you want to leave Mikey?” I realized he has never seen his team celebrate a win live so I told him we’re going to watch the entire game so he can see the Phillies celebrate after a win. OK, I’m done rambling…great blog!

15thtee – Nice story :O) As for the 6-man rotation, I do not like the idea. We have a lot of great pitchers and that would take away innings from them and push their starts back, thus giving them fewer. With as great as Lee, Happ and Blanton have pitched, you do not want to take away games from them if we are going to make a run at the playoffs again. And some pitchers do not do well on extra rest. Hamels, for example, is STRICT about his schedule and putting him off that schedule could really mess him up, worse than he is already ;o) Thanks for the comments and have a great day!!

Jenn: Jeter is amazing. I’m glad you like him, too.🙂 I read your “about you” and you sound like an amazing person. I too enjoy photography.
I don’t like Pedro Martinez too much, sorry. He was always a pain when he was on the Red Sox and faced my Yanks. I feel kind of bad for Moyer, but at least he is still on the team, unlike Smoltz who the Red Sox just released.
Maybe, if we are lucky, our teams will meet in the World Series. That would be something! I’d like to keep in touch with you. I’ll be sure to visit your blog regularly!🙂 -Virginiahttp://southernbelle.mlblogs.com

Virginia – Thanks!! Loved your blog as well. And yes, the Phils-Yanks is my DREAM World Series!!! I will totally pass out if that ever happens!
Agreed on Pedro – not sure what will happen, but have not heard great things about him personally, so I guess we shall see.

It’s difficult for an SP to go to the bullpen, but think of the alternative, getting sent down to minors to improve your technique. One of our relievers, James McDonald has gone from reliever, to SP, to minors, and now back to relieving. He actually came back vastly improved. The reason, he disliked being sent down so much, he worked extra hard to improve!! Now I believe he is one of the best Dodger relievers.http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com

You are right Jamie Moyer is such a professional – probably because of his age and experience he is the one who could go into the bullpen and do what is needed to help the team. My guess is the Phillies need to see what Pedro can do as they already know that Jamie will give you 6-7 solid innings and give up a few runs. In the long run, hopefully the Phillies can put the Marlins series behind them a start winning again – Todd in Hawaii (and yes what is up with the ump throwing out the Shane the other day).

If I remember right, didn’t Moyer get a sign from the front office this would not happen before he signed that 2-year deal?
It will be exciting to see which Pedro, either the Boston or Mets version shows up for that game.
Karma would dictate 5 innings by Martinez, 3 by Moyer and someone else close it out for a win………just saying.

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